Egypt’s telecommunications regulator has announced it will appeal against a court order to ban the video-sharing website YouTube for one month over an anti-Islam video that appeared on the site last Autumn, sparking protests across the Islamic world.

Egypt's telecommunications regulator has announced its intention to appeal against a court order to ban the video-sharing website YouTube for one month. (Image: Google/gadgets.ndtv.com)

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said that the ruling was “unenforceable” and that they have presented an appeal to the court to halt the implementation of the verdict.

A court in Egypt recently ordered the government to block access to the video-sharing website YouTube for 30 days after the American-based website carried an anti-Islam film that sparked massive unrest.

Judge Hassouna Tawfiq ordered YouTube blocked for carrying the film, which he described as “offensive to Islam and the Prophet (Muhammad).” He made the ruling in the Egyptian capital where the first protests against the film erupted last September before spreading to more than 20 countries, and resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people.

The ruling can be appealed, and based on precedent, might not be enforced. A spokeswoman for YouTube’s parent company, Google, said in a statement that the firm had “received nothing from the judge or government related to this matter.”